RAB Capital bosses pledge $30m to fund

THE co-founders of RAB Capital signalled the latest stage in the long restructuring of their flagship Special Situations fund by committing to invest $30m (£19.21m) of their own money in less than two weeks’ time.

The fund, which became notorious for its investment in Northern Rock, did not respond to calls for comment but said in a statement: “The board believes that this agreement is a positive outcome for the company as it seeks to reduce exposure to potential liquidity issues in respect of the fund’s unlisted investments for other shareholders.”

The super-rich Mittal family are among those to have invested in RAB but the fund has seen a wave of exits of clients and left the stock exchange.

Once the darling of the hedge fund industry after returns of more than 1,000 per cent in 2003, RAB hit problems in the credit crisis when Special Situations invested heavily in illiquid securities and bought into Northern Rock before the former mutual collapsed.

Earlier this summer RAB, which managed around $7bn at the end of 2007, said third-party assets under management were set to be less than $200m by October.